Judea Magazine, No. 1.5
Hebron Etzion
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JUDEA ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE Vol.1, No.5 Tishrei-Heshvan 5754/Sep-Oct 1993
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Contents: AFTER THE HANDSHAKE
Reactions:
After the Handshake - The PLO and Hamas Side by Side - Trust and
Betrayal - Genteel Ethnic Cleansing - Latrun - Women for Israel's
Tomorrow - Controlling Israel's Water - Peace Watch - The
Responsibility has Fallen to Us
Roots:
Bar Kochba Era Writings Found Near Jericho - Second Temple Period
Discoveries at Bat Ayin - Jews in Judea After the Romans -
Air Service Heritage Day - Amos: The Prophet from Tekoa
Focus on Mt. Hebron:
Carmei Tzur - Shvei Hebron Yeshiva - Kiryat Arba-Hebron: City of
Our Fathers and Mothers
Some Good News:
More Jewish Homes in Jerusalem - Tekoa Computers - The Jerusalem Zoo
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* Reactions *
AFTER THE HANDSHAKE
I live in Tekoa, a Jewish village 8 miles southeast of Jerusalem,
the capital of Israel. I have also lived in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Safed
and Moshav Shorashim, a settlement in the Galilee, before finally finding
a place that I could truly call home. In Tekoa I built my house and
planted my garden. Here I have neighbors, not all of whom are my best
friends, but they are people I know will help me out, whether it be for
something as simple as borrowing an egg, minding a child, or -- warning
me of an Arab roadblock or stonethrowing as I drive to a Jerusalem movie
theater with my family.
Tekoa is a community settlement -- that is, every family unit is
independent of the other and yet there is a feeling of community. In
October, Tekoa celebrated its 16th birthday with an evening puppet show
for the kids, dancing and a sing-along to Israeli music, and a booth area
where one could buy pitot stuffed with sauteed Tekoa mushrooms, and for
the more carnivorous -- a barbeque. There were also homemade cakes,
jewelry, and t-shirts for sale. This little celebration came at a time
when our spirits were in need of uplifting. Although only a few miles
from Israel's capital, there is a feeling here of having been set adrift
and isolated from the rest of the country since Israel's prime minister
shook hands with the head of the PLO, and set in motion the handing over
of Israel's heartland to the Arabs.
Tekoa is not an aberration. It is an integral part of the process
of Zionism, a movement created to bring about a safe haven for the people
of Israel in the Land of Israel through the settlement of Jews on the
land. Tekoa has been a part of the Land of Israel for thousands of years
and I see my coming to Tekoa as a continuation of that history. I have
put down roots here and my children have grown up in Tekoa. We are
strong Jews and, although this "agreement" has dealt us a heavy blow, we
are not giving up. -- Y.A.
*********************************************************************
On 3 October 1993, the IDF announced the killing of the first of the
terrorists who murdered Mordechai Lipkin of Tekoa. In November, two more
of his murderers -- residents of the hill opposite Tekoa -- were killed
by the IDF in separate operations.
*********************************************************************
THE PLO AND HAMAS SIDE BY SIDE
My Arab neighbors hail Mordechai Lipkin's murderers as martyrs.
Every person in Tekoa sees the PLO and Hamas fundamentalist flags flying
side by side, day after day, in the Arab village of Harmele on the
opposite hill. For two separate weeks in November we have all witnessed
scores of cars and crowds gathered while speeches blared through
loudspeakers from the houses of Mordechai Lipkin's murderers, who were
tracked down and killed by the Israeli army.
The people on the next hill have taught and continue to teach their
children to hunt down and kill Jews. In these very days we hear them
chanting "Death to the Jews" at us over their loudspeakers -- now, after
the "peace" agreement. To my neighbors on the next hill, with whom I
would live in peace, a person who murders a Jew is a national hero. --
M.A.
*********************************************************************
TRUST AND BETRAYAL
The Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Institute in Jerusalem offers wonderful
guided history tours of the city. On a recent tour our group stopped
briefly at the memorial to the scores of Jewish fighters who fell
defending the Old City in 1948. Back then the Jews were few and their
military strength was weak, compared to the Arabs, but their _will_ was
great. They knew that the land they were fighting for was part of a
sacred trust, a trust held by Jews for generations. For this they fought
until they could fight no more. I was saddened by the thought that maybe
they had died for nothing. Today Israel is stronger militarily than it
has ever been, and yet there are Jews whose will is weak, who are
prepared to give away what those Jews of 1948 gave their lives for.
Today there are PLO flags flying all over the Old City of Jerusalem only
because some Jews are tired. Lured by promises of economic wealth, they
have betrayed the memory of the fallen and the sacred trust of the Jewish
people. -- Y.A.
*********************************************************************
GENTEEL ETHNIC CLEANSING
Like thousands of other Jews throughout the threatened territories
of Israel, one day in mid-October I picked up my morning paper and read
that the international community of nations had created a multi-billion
dollar fund to enable Palestinian Arabs to buy my home and the homes of
all my neighbors for the purpose of housing the expected hundreds of
thousands of returning refugees. -- M.A.
*********************************************************************
LATRUN
"Israel is Likely to Recognize Jordanian Sovereignty Over the Latrun
Area," declared the headline in _Maariv_ of 12 November 1993. According
to the report, Israel may have already initialled its agreement to such
an arrangement, in the context of an Israel-Jordan peace accord.
"Since Biblical times, the destiny of Jerusalem had been decided on
the ridge lines of Latrun. It was there on the evening of his terrible
battle that Joshua had bade the sun stand still to give him time to
complete his victory over the Canaanites. From there the Philistines had
terrorized the Hebrews of Saul's time. Here Judah Maccabee, Judah the
Hammer, had begun his war to liberate his people. Herod had defeated the
Jews on these hills, and Vespasian had installed his legions along its
crests. Richard the Lionhearted had built on one of its peaks 'a
vigilant citadel along the route of the Caliphs,' only to have it razed
by Saladin on his own march to Jerusalem. Nine centuries later, in 1917,
Prussians and Turks had tried to stem on its ridges the advance of
General Allenby."
Just after the State of Israel was born in 1948, the new state was
atacked on all fronts by Arab forces. Yigal Yadin, then Chief of
Operations of the Israeli Army, decided that the greatest danger at that
time came from the Egyptian invasion of Israel in the south, and,
"rejecting *Yitzhak Rabin's* plea to hold Latrun in force by adding a
battalion of the Givati Brigade to Rabin's battered Fifth Battalion, he
ordered the Givati troops south."
The Arabs moved back into Latrun and it became the scene of three
bloody battles in which Israeli forces tried unsuccessfully to wrest it
from the Arabs and suffered serious losses in the attempts. Latrun was
to remain in Arab hands until the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel
finally gained control of that vital hill overlooking the main route
between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
(Quotations from _O Jerusalem!_, Larry Collins and Dominique
Lapierre.)
* * *
The Memorial Center and Museum, Latrun, Mobile Post Shimshon 99762,
Tel. 08-255268, fax 08-255186, is open daily including Saturdays. The
entrance fee includes the services of a guide (according to their latest
brochure). -- Y.A.
*********************************************************************
WOMEN FOR ISRAEL'S TOMORROW
On 23 November 1993, the Women for Israel's Tomorrow, including
women of all ages from Jerusalem, Efrat, Alon Shvut, and Tekoa met at
Sha'ar Hagai not far from Latrun, on the main highway between Jerusalem
and Tel Aviv, to point out to the people of Israel that control of the
main road between Israel's capital and Tel Aviv is up for grabs in the
Israel-Arab negotiations.
Some forty women arrived by bus from Jerusalem, led by the group's
founder, Jerusalem artist Ruth Matar. The women stood on a hill
overlooking the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway holding wide strips of green
material representing the pre-1967 border and bearing the words "No To
The Green Line Ghetto." A huge banner depicted an Israeli road sign with
arrows pointing to Israel and Palestine, and another said "Stop! Border
Ahead." The women also wore green hats and made quite an impressive
scene. More than anything, one could feel the energy and power of these
women who believed in an ideal -- the preservation of the People of
Israel through the preservation of the Land of Israel. They hope to
continue their struggle every week at Sha'ar Hagai.
*********************************************************************
CONTROLLING ISRAEL'S WATER
"I am constantly surprised by how small territories are compared to
their political significance. The land is not important, but the water
that it provides is," says John Howard, a water expert at the World Bank.
Today, 83 percent of the underground water in Judea and Samaria is used
by Israel. If the Arabs pump water freely from Judea and Samaria, Israel
could lose 35 percent of its water supply. Israel's dependence on water
from Judea and Samaria is a basic fact of life. "The rain that falls in
the West Bank fills reservoirs. Every well due east of Israeli wells
could dry them up and salt water could seep into the western (Israeli)
side and ruin them forever" (U.S. News and World Report, 16 Dec 91).
Whoever controls the aquifers in the Land of Israel controls the State of
Israel. - [Excerpted from a "Water for Israel" Movement information
sheet.]
*********************************************************************
PEACE WATCH
"Peace Watch" was founded after the signing of the agreement between
Israel and the PLO. It is a "watch-dog" organization which documents and
reports on violations of the agreement. Its director is Dan Polisar.
They can be contacted at: Peace Watch, 24 Eben Ezra St., Jerusalem, tel:.
972-2-617726; fax: 972-2-633326.
*********************************************************************
THE RESPONSIBILITY HAS FALLEN TO US
Shilo Gal, Head of the Etzion Bloc Regional Council
"The enterprise of renewed Jewish settlement in the Etzion Bloc area
today includes 14 villages and two towns -- Efrat and Betar. Our goal is
to bring as many Jews as possible to the Hebron mountains, to establish a
contiguous belt of Jewish settlement between Jerusalem -- the Holy City,
and Hebron -- City of our Fathers. Perhaps if the Etzion Bloc had not
fallen on the eve of independence [at a cost of 240 lives], the face of
things would be different today with total legitimacy given to Jewish
settlement throughout the Land of Israel and on Mt. Hebron in particular.
Since fate directed otherwise, the responsibility has fallen to us to
prepare the groundwork for a reality in which the Etzion Bloc is an
integral part of the State of Israel." (Etzion Bloc Regional Council,
_General Report_, 18 Aug 93.)
*********************************************************************
* Roots *
BAR KOCHBA ERA WRITINGS FOUND NEAR JERICHO
Yehuda Golan and Shaul Hon
Twelve papyrus fragments from the time of the Bar Kochba revolt were
recently discovered in a cave on the Kurantul ridge ("Hill of the
Forty"), 3 km. west of Jericho. The Jews had fled into the area to
escape the Romans at the end of the revolt, seeking to hide in the caves.
Researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered the
papyrus on the fifth day of Operation Megillah (Scroll) that the
Authority is undertaking in the Jericho area. A partner in the operation
is the Chief Officer for Archeological Affairs in the Civil
Administration for Jericho and the Judean Desert.
Hanan Eshel, in charge of the local digging, believes the fragments
found are documents from the second century that deal with matters of
trade. "After a careful reading we will be able to better understand
their content....Ten years ago I found papyrus in this cave, but this
find is much more exciting. We have very little written evidence from
the time of the Bar Kochba revolt and every find like this adds greatly
to our knowledge."
The Antiquities Authority emphasizes that the papyruses were
preserved in place despite massive theivery from the caves in the area.
The researchers explained that beginning in 1947, the monks of the
Kurantul monastery which overlooks the caves agreed to help keep away
antique robbers.
The Director of the Antiquities Authority, Amir Drori, said that the
operation has to date discovered food remains, pottery fragments, cloth,
a Roman sandal, mats, and silver coins from the Mamaluke period. "I
believe that in the Dead Sea area there are more scrolls and we must make
every effort to find them," he added.
The papyrus pieces are each a maximum of 10 cm. in size. "This is a
large find and a serious amount, but we hope to find more," said
Authority spokesperson Efrat Orbach. She added that 16 teams of
researchers have been organized for Operation Megillah. (_Maariv_, 19
Nov 93.)
*********************************************************************
SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD DISCOVERIES AT BAT AYIN
Recently, infrastructure work at the entrance to the village of Bat
Ayin in the Etzion Bloc uncovered the remains of an ancient village
dating from the Second Temple to the Byzantine period. Findings include
a mikveh carved into the bedrock, a well-preserved ancient wine press in
working condition, and living quarters containing numerous archeological
finds. The site was excavated by archeologist David Amit of neighboring
Kfar Etzion with the assistance and supervision of the relevant
authorities. Archeological reconstructions are planned for the site in
order to preserve it and open it to the public. (Etzion Bloc General
Report, August 1993).
*********************************************************************
JEWS IN JUDEA AFTER THE ROMANS
Until the Bar Kochba Revolt in 132 against pagan Roman rule, the
center of Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel was in Judea. Here sat
the Sanhedrin and the leadership, surrounded by the majority of the
Jewish people. Though it has been claimed that Jewish settlement in
Judea was totally uprooted after the revolt, this is incorrect. Recent
archeological research tells the opposite story. A number of synagogues
have been found which were in use by Jewish communities in Judea through
the 7th and 8th centuries, including Ein Gedi, Eshtamoa, Naaran, Jericho,
Susiya, Kishor, and Dvira. Add to this the houses found with a niche for
a mezzuzah on the doorpost and the map of continued Jewish settlement
during this period becomes even broader. Further evidence comes from
Christian and imperial records discussing contact with Jews.
After the failure of the revolt, many Jews went to the Galilee where
there was a Jewish majority spread among hundreds of farming villages in
the Lower Galilee and the Beit Shean area, the Upper Galilee, and the
Golan. At the end of the 6th century, Jews were known to be living in
three large concentrations in the Land of Israel: Galilee, Judea, and the
Jordan Valley and eastward. [Source: Naftali Arbel, ed., _Great Eras in
the History of Israel_, Vol. I (Tel Aviv: Revivim, 1981), pp. 78, 83
(Hebrew).]
*********************************************************************
AIR SERVICE HERITAGE DAY
At the start of Israel's War of Independence, when Arab forces cut
the road between the Etzion Bloc and Jerusalem, Ezer Weizman, today
Israel's president, inaugurated the Air Service to help resupply the
Etzion Bloc defenders. On 5 September 1993, the Etzion Bloc hosted
veterans of the Air Service, the predecessor of Israel's Air Force, on
the occasion of the Service's annual Heritage Day. Some 50 people --
pilots, engineers, bombadiers, spotters, and ground crew -- gathered for
the unveiling of a memorial commemorating the former airfield, located on
the road between Alon Shvut and Kibbutz Kfar Etzion. After seeing a
sound and light show at Kfar Etzion depicting the history of the area,
the group gathered for dinner at the kibbutz where they were joined by
President Weizman. (-- From _Etzioniton_, No. 1 (September 1993).
(For more information regarding the Etzion Bloc, see "A Brief
History of the Etzion Bloc" in Judea Magaine 1-1.)
*********************************************************************
AMOS: THE PROPHET FROM TEKOA
Amos was born in Tekoa, Judea, a town located between Bethlehem and
Hebron at the edge of the Judean desert. He prophesied in the days of
Uzziahu, king of Judea, and in the days of Yoash, king of the northern
kingdom, Israel (circa 800 BCE).
Amos fought for social justice among his people, the Jews, and his
fiery sentences flowed from the ideas and parables taken from the
everyday life of the herdsmen and farmers of Tekoa and the surrounding
area. He prophesied that terrible punishments were in store for the non-
Jewish nations, as well as for the Jews, if they did not keep the laws of
social justice. Amos said that the people of Israel would be scattered
among the nations, and that the evil nations would be destroyed.
However, the Jews would eventually return to their land:
"And I will turn the captivity of My people Israel,
And they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them;
And they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof;
They shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
And I will plant them upon their land,
And they shall no more be plucked up
Out of their land which I have given them,
Saith the Lord thy God."
(Amos 9:14-15).
*********************************************************************
* Focus on Mt. Hebron *
CARMEI TZUR
In 1985, graduates of the Har Etzion yeshiva founded the new Jewish
village of Carmei Tzur, 20 minutes south of Jerusalem between the Etzion
Bloc and Hebron, near the site of Beit Tsur, a Jewish village at the time
of the Maccabees. Today Carmei Tsur is home to 45 families. One local
resident told this researcher, after the Rabin-Arafat agreement, that
anyone whose morale is lagging should come visit Carmei Tzur, whose
residents continue to build and to believe in the Jewish return to Judea.
(Yesh Iton, newsletter from Alon Shvut, #11, p. 5).
*********************************************************************
SHVEI HEBRON YESHIVA
In 1980, Arab terrorists attacked yeshiva students at Beit Hadassah
in Hebron, killing 6 and wounding 23. In response, the Government of
Israel approved the renovation of Beit Hadassah and the establishment of
a yeshiva in Hebron. Today, 165 students learn in the Shvei Hebron
Yeshiva. Scheduled to be housed in Beit Romano, now undergoing extensive
renovations, the yeshiva is currently located in the Visitors Restaurant
opposite the Cave of Machpelah.
According to local reports, the spirit of the Jewish residents of
Hebron and the yeshiva students has not fallen, despite recent events.
They report the opposite: work continues, new students and families
continue to come, and at the Cave of Machpelah, the Elders of Hebron
prayer group organizes daily prayers, and Torah learning increases from
day to day. (Yesh Iton, newsletter from Alon Shvut, #12, p. 3).
*********************************************************************
KIRYAT ARBA-HEBRON: CITY OF OUR FATHERS AND MOTHERS
When "Sarah died in Kiryat Arba -- the same is Hebron," Abraham
asked Ephron the Hittite to sell him the Cave of Machpelah for a burial
place. Ephron offered the cave to Abraham for free, but Abraham insisted
"and Abraham weighted to Ephron...four hundred shekels of silver." "So
the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the
field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the
field, that were in all the border thereof round about, were made sure
unto Abraham for a possession" (Genesis 23, 25:8-10).
For thousands of years, the Cave of Machpelah has been revered as
the burial place of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah.
(Jacob's wife Rachel is buried between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.) The
place is a pilgrimage site for tens of thousands of traditional and
believing Jews living in Israel. Jews had lived continuously in Hebron
from ancient times until 1929 when Arab mobs killed more than 60 Jews and
the rest fled for their lives.
In 1968, 60 Jews returned to live in Hebron, at first on their own
initiative. In 1970 their efforts were backed by a Knesset decision to
establish Kiryat Arba, approved by a majority of 48 to 5 with 7
abstentions. Today Kiryat Arba is a thriving Jewish community of 5,000
located close enough to the Cave of Machpelah that residents regularly
walk there for prayer. Other Jews live in restored Jewish property in
the city itself -- in pockets such as Beit Hadassah, Beit Romano, and the
Avraham Avinu Synagogue area. Building has continued in new
neighborhoods of Kiryat Arba including Givat HaAvot and Ramat Mamre.
(From Kiryat Arba-Hebron newsletters, Sept-Oct '93).
* * *
In early November 1993, Avraham Zarbiv, father of 10, was walking to
morning prayers at the Cave of Machpelah when he was attacked by two
Arabs armed with axes, members of one of the many organized groups of
Arab terrorists. They fractured his skull and he was taken to the
hospital in serious condition. During his struggle for his life he shot
and killed one of his attackers. The British Reuters news service and
Agence France Presse headlined the story: "Jewish Settler Kills
Palestinian" and sent it to subscribers around the world.
* * *
Before 1967 the Arabs in Hebron did not allow any Jew to approach
the Cave of Machpelah beyond the seventh step of the outside stairs. Are
we now to return to those days?
*********************************************************************
* Some Good News *
MORE JEWISH HOMES IN JERUSALEM
The results of the Jerusalem municipal elections on 2 Nov 93, with
the defeat of the Labor-backed candidate at the hands of the Likud-backed
candidate, may have a significant impact on the future of Jewish life in
the city. Predictions have appeared of many more Jews in Silwan [the
City of David] and the Moslem Quarter of the Old City. Look for Jewish
neighborhoods going up on the Mount of Olives and Ras el Ammud.
Shmuel Meir, leader of the National Religious Party faction on the
Jerusalem City Council, now seeks to build thousands of new apartments in
the Har Homa area of southeast Jerusalem as well as in the neighborhoods
of Neve Yaakov, Pisgat Zeev and East Talpiot. (From post-election news
reports).
*********************************************************************
TEKOA COMPUTERS
Mordechai and Hannah Lavi came to Israel from Russia in the 1970s
and founded Tekoa Computers -- today one of Israel's leading educational
software developers. Focusing on a market of middle-class Israeli
families where parents encourage their children to use the home PC, Tekoa
Computers developed the Pele-Dor line, illustrated with action color
graphics.
Their selection begins with memory games for ages 4 and up, the
alphabet, reading readiness, and beginning reading and writing for first
and second graders. There is a word processor especially for elementary
school age, and a wide range of aids in subjects taught in Israel's
schools including a shelf of math learning programs, programs that teach
English to Israelis, Israeli and world geography, Bible and Judaism, and
preparation for the high school matriculation exams. Of course they have
developed a special series for Russian-speaking newcomers, with many
useful aids to speed their learning of Hebrew.
While most of their output is in Hebrew for the Israeli market,
Tekoa Computers offers programs for English-speakers as well, for
learning Hebrew, Jewish tradition, and Israeli history and geography.
Mordechai and Hannah Lavi created a successful high-tech business, built
a new home for their family, and then helped bring over more of their
relatives from Russia in the 1990s to join them in Tekoa -- in Judea.
*********************************************************************
THE JERUSALEM ZOO
The local zoo in Judea is the new Tisch Family Biblical Zoo in south
Jerusalem, a treat for all ages and interests. Beautifully set in the
Judean hills with a spring-fed lake in its midst, the Biblical Zoo leaves
the animals and people plenty of room to enjoy each other. Be sure not
to miss it on your next visit to Jerusalem. (The zoo is located just
past Jerusalem's new shopping mall.)
*********************************************************************
"The 'settlers' may yet prevail. Always it has been those few who
have decided to remain Jews who have written Jewish history." -- Elyakim
Ha'Etzni
*********************************************************************
*** BACK ISSUES ***
Back issues of Judea Electronic Magazine include:
No. 1.1 Building a Community (Jan-Feb '93)
No. 1.2 Security (Mar-Apr '93)
No. 1.3 President of Israel Tours Judea (May-June '93)
No. 1.4 In Memoriam -- Mordechai Lipkin (Jul-Aug '93)
No. 1.5 After the Handshake (Sep-Oct '93)
They are available through the Jerusalem1 Gopher:
At your main prompt, type:
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Choose the Politics, Newsletters, and Judea submenus for the issue of
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Look for a menu option "Gophers around the World" or "Other gophers,"
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If gopher service is not available, you may request back issues by
E-mail from: amiel2@crosswinds.net.
*********************************************************************
JUDEA Magazine is an academic-oriented bi-monthly electronic magazine
produced and transmitted from Judea, Israel. Its focus is the
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